It was 0900 hours when Commodore Gaains began the meeting. The taskforce had arrived at its destination, the ships were information with the fleet, and all the major details had been taken care of. She would not have a better opportunity to address the highest officers under her command and ensure that they knew exactly who they were serving under.

The Captain of the Aggressive Negotiator and the Commanding Officers of it’s fighter squadrons where there in person. The Captains of the Voyager and Osiris were represented by hologram, while the same officers on Heroes of Tatooine were absent entirely. That ship had been her previous command, and they already knew what she was about to tell the officers currently present in the conference room, even if she had never said it specifically.

“Thank you for your prescience.” She said as she began. “I know you all have duties to attend to, so I will attempt to make this quick as possible.”

She gave the room one last look over to get a feel for the men and women represented, then continued.

“I called you here because I am aware that through my previous assignments, I have developed something of a reputation. I believe that in order to set the correct tone and ensure that we are all on the same page, it is in our best interests that I address this now. There are two main versions of the stories surrounding me, one good, one bad.

Both are true. I have been both a commander who is approachable, makes a point to treat her crew with the same respect I expect from them, and ensures to recognize the hard work and dedication of the men and women serving under her, as well as one of the most vicious commanders this side of Darth Vader that the New Republic Defense Force finds acceptable. In many cases, I’ve done both within the same breath.

The difference is determined by whom it is I am commanding. More importantly, it is determined by those people themselves. Which brings me to the ulterior motive for this meeting – what I expect from not only each of you, but from every individual that you command.

When we joined the New Republic Defense Force, we made a commitment. What I expect is that each and every person that reports to me either directly or indirectly will honor this commitment. It is a commitment to defend the New Republic, but also to uphold the ideals for which it stands. These are ideals for which the brave men and women died to ensure the success of the Rebel Alliance, and we have committed ourselves to see to it that their success lives on.

This is why I will not accept, and make life very difficult for, any member of this task force that does not give their all to uphold this commitment. I do not accept people putting their personal interests first, and I have no time for incompetence, especially from those who make no effort to fix these shortcomings.

Therein lies your choice in what kind of commander I will be towards each of you. Choose wisely, and I promise you I will have your back and respect you for the officer you are just as you would do the same for me. Choose poorly, and I can assure you that you will be begging to be transferred to a different assignment as fast as you can fill out the paperwork.”

Her talk almost over, the Twi’lek took a moment to catch her breath and let her words begin to sink in.

“Assuming you are each willing to make the right choice, I also expect that this understanding will quickly pass down through the ranks to each and every one of the mean and women serving on your ships, both officer and enlisted man alike, from your bridge crew all the way down to the greenest maintenance worker. We are only as strong as our weakest individual, and I will not see our ongoing mission fail because someone suddenly decides that they are more important than what we stand for.

That concludes this briefing, and I thank you all again for your time. Dismissed.”

With her speech concluded, the woman gave them a quick salute and exited the room. While all the major details were taken care of for her task force’s assignment with the Fourth Fleet, there were still small things to be taken care of, and she had no intention of letting those wait any longer than she had to._________________Commodore Tira Gaains
Commander of New Republic Task Force Beta-Nine

“Ship systems reports are in, Commodore. All systems are operating at full capacity, no signs of potential problems, and we’ve received word from the rest of the task force that their latest reports are the same.”

Tira nodded in confirmation as Captain Horn provided her with the latest update on her ships performance. It was the latest small distraction from the antagonizing tension that was engulfing the fleet. With the need for action certain but with no clear signs that it would be taken soon or any orders from the higher ups that provided clues as to when something might be done or what it might be, Tira was left to find her own ways to keep her ships busy and not go crazy waiting for something to happen.

Looking over the holographic display that was stationed in the center region of the Aggressive Negotiator’s bridge, she looked over the current image that showed the four ships making up her command and an assortment of information on each. Moving around some of the data, she brought up a list of scheduled events for the day.

“Captain, we have a combat drill scheduled to begin in one hour.” She said, looking over the list. Specifically, it was one meant to test response times for the sudden appearance of enemy vessels in the system. “I’m rescheduling the drill. I want the task force to begin the drill in five minutes.”

While he did his best to hide it, she could tell that Captain Horn was surprised by the decision. A man that looked to be not much younger than herself, he had a very Corellian air to him. Though according to his record, he had no relation whatsoever to the famous Jedi Corran Horn or his family beyond being having his roots in the system prior to the establishment of the Corellian Star Empire and sharing the same last name.

“Commodore, if I may, the purpose of a drill is to examine response to situations in a controlled setting.”
“Thank you for that reminder, Captain.” She replied. “However, when a real enemy attacks, it will be on their timetable, not ours. I wish to see how the task force responds under slightly more realistic circumstances.”
“Understood, Ma’am. I will see to it.”
“Thank you, Captain.”_________________Commodore Tira Gaains
Commander of New Republic Task Force Beta-Nine

In her office, Commodore Gaains looked over the results of the drill. On average, the results were satisfactory. A bright spot in the middle was the performance of the Tatooine. She would have expected no less from her former ship. However, there was much room for improvement on the other three vessels, and certain areas she noticed that would need special attention.

”What had peace done to us?” she mused. There hadn’t been a serious threat to the New Republic in decades. And now, with have the galaxy ready to panic at a moments notice, she wondered how prepared they’d be when the next one reared it’s ugly head. When being the key word. There was always something waiting to cause trouble. That was how the galaxy worked, regardless of who was willing to admit it.

”Commodore, we have a message from the Trucemaker.[/i]” came the message from Captain Horn over the office comm. System. ”The fleet has been reassigned to Bilbringi.”
“Thank you Captain, I’ll be right up.”

She promptly left her work on her desk and made the quick walk to the bridge without delay.

“Officer on deck!”
“Thank you for that.” She said with less than a sincere attitude. “Now if everyone who took time out of their work to attend to that would complete their duties, that would be excellent.”

“What is our status?” She said as she moved to the center display area.
“Task Force Beta-Nine is well underway preparing for the jump, we should be ready with plenty of time to spare.”
“Good. Have all ships report in when they are through with pre-jump procedures, and be ready to depart when we recieved the jump orders.”

Task Force Beta-Nine is re-deploying to Bilbringi with the Fourth Fleet

The more she poured over the data, the more Tira realized there wasn’t as much to be learned from the battle as had first appeared. At least, not as much as could be learned without the right kind of experts looking at it. It was true that she was suppose to be a leader within the New Republic fleet, and with that came an expectation that she’d have some ability to examine enemy tactics and find ways to respond to them. But at the same time, there were people whose very expertise came in picking out the smallest details and making sense of it all.

She was not one of those people, nor were any of the officers busy helping her pick through the mess of data that had been acquired from the loss at Bilbringi.

”Difficult to call it even that.” she thought to herself. It had been a massacre. From the moment the ships had opened fire on one another, she could count on one hand the number of things that had gone right for the Union forces present.

But she couldn’t publicly refer to it that way. It was her responsibility as the head officer on the ship to inspire some means of confidence in those who answered to her. Though right now, it was about the most difficult job in the galaxy. How could she inspire confidence when she knew of nothing to be confident about?

“It’s like the same story repeats every time.” Said Lt. Norrez, the human female that been in charge of communications during the battle. “Especially at the end. Overwhelming numbers and superior firepower.”

All Tira could do was nod and take another sip of stimcaf. While she had not gone particularly long without sleep, she needed something to keep her mind stimulated. The battle’s endgame, she had soon learned after the Negotiator had gone to hyperspace, had been particularly draining on everyone, watching as the Empire drove them away in a manner that many of them had never actually seen in person. It was if the Empire from the days of the Rebellion had risen it’s ugly head and struck back after years of pent up abuse and anger.

”No, Zend’s forces.” She thought, correcting herself. She would not allow herself to let this woman take the place of the Empire that had, believe it or not, actually been the New Republic’s ally for the past twenty years.

To start calling those who followed Zend the Empire now would be to discredit their allies and legitimize what could be amounted to a child quitting a game in the middle of it because it was not certain that they could win, then coming back later during another game and expecting everyone to act like they had never left.

Problem was, the child in question had brought with her some rather dangerous new toys.

The interior communication system beeped, and Gaains pressed the respond button, bringing up a hologram of Commander Pol‘lar, the Bothan who was head of the ships engineering systems.

“Please tell me you have good news.” Gaains said, trying her best to keep her tone professional but realizing immediately how her question probably actually sounded.
“Fortunetly, yes.” He replied. “We’ve concluded that the primary hyperdrive should be repairable without aid of shipyards. It’ll take several hours yet, but it should move faster when we pull out of hyperspace.”
“Thank you. Go ahead and do what you need to.”
“We’ve also managed to restore minimal functions to the primary engines. We won’t be able to go very fast, but it will allow a smoother ride than just the thrusters would offer.”
“Again, thank you.” Gaains replied. “That’s well more than I was hoping for. Keep me updated on your progress.”

The undertones of his voice spoke of anger, and she could understand why. The man had been in charge of coordinating the starfighter squadrons within the task force, and he had relayed orders that had gotten most of them killed. Orders that she had given. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been in a position like this. Years of peace had not prepared anyone well for the feeling of having send good individuals, people that had sworn to protect the New Republic, to their deaths in such large numbers.

Certainly, peace had seen its hang-ups here and there, but she wouldn’t hesitate to bet that they had lost more servicemen and women in combat today than had been lost in the entirety of the twenty-year span of peace since Zend had run off to hide. It would take time to readjust to the horrors of war, and Gaains hadn’t had that much time to get use to them up close the first time around.

”What has peace done to us?” She asked, remembering the question she had asked herself prior to the battle, when the worst thing she had to worry about was less than ideal drill reports. ”Peace has made us soft and complacent.”

“I’m not sure how much else we’re going to get.” The Commodore said finally. She picked up a datapad containing what little information the ships records had held on Zend. She had not been a subject of interest in years, and so to use up space on information about her beyond the basics had been more or less a waste. Had been.

“We don’t have the skills or equipment to tear this information apart properly.” She continued. “I think the best we can do now is prepare it for the people in the intelligence division. Let’s make their jobs easier. We can give it another look over once we’ve completed that, but until then, I think the focus needs to be on giving the right people what they need to do their jobs.”_________________Commodore Tira Gaains
Commander of New Republic Task Force Beta-Nine

Last edited by Tira Gaains on Fri, July 09th 2010 12:25pm; edited 1 time in total

The bridge of the Negotiator was quieter than normal as the ship prepared to exit hyperspace. It was a solemn silence, with only the most essential statements being relayed amongst the crew. Though unspoken, it was pretty well acknowledged that the reason for the silence was a fear on board of jinxing the hyperdrive as they reverted to realspace. They had escaped near-death at Bilbringi, but until they arrived safely at Point Bantha, there was no interest in doing anything that might cause their destruction to only be postponed.

While Gaains herself didn’t believe in the idea, she also realized that for the moment, trying to put such fears to rest would not be worth the effort. If the ship arrived at its destination safely, they would go away on their own.

While the tension wasn’t nearly as thick as it had been during the narrow escape from Bilbringi, the minute still felt longer than it should have.

“Entering realspace in three…two…one…”

The tunnel of hyperspace gave way to the more common stars of realspace, and while the ship made a couple jerky movements as the busted up engines took over, the ship showed no other signs of trouble. It immediately relieved the tension onboard, and allowed the bridge to return to its normal level of activity as sections of the ship reported in.

“The Heroes of Tatooine is hailing us.” Reported Lt. Norrez.
“Inform them of our situation, then find out if Beta-Nine lost anyone else, find out what’s left of the Fourth Fleet, and inform Admiral Brand that we’ve arrived.”

Hopefully, they hadn’t arrived far enough behind the other ships for anyone to have considered them lost yet.

As the holomessaging went through, she saluted when it revealed the image of Admiral Brand.

"Vice Admiral Brand here, Negotiator, how are you faring? We are preparing to jump to Coruscant since we need to spread word to High Command as quickly as possible, but can you make it there, or at least to Borleias?"

”He hasn’t contacted them yet?” She wondered to herself. She would have thought that would have been a top priority. Just the fact that Zend’s forces had attacked and taken Bilbringi should have warranted High Command knowing ASAP about their situation. Never mind the added details of Admiral Darklighters capture and the serious technological supremacy the forces had been wielding.

”I knew I should have made a point of checking on that…”

“Admiral. The Negotiator took serious damage during the escape. Our primary hyperdrive was rendered inoperable. Main engines and the fighter bay have also suffered heavy damage. Fortunately, my chief engineer has informed me that we should be back up to full speed in hyperspace without too much further delay.”

She allowed the man a moment to take in her initial report, then continued.

“Sir, if I may make a recommendation. I believe it is imperative that we contact High Command immediately by a secure holonet channel and inform them of our situation. Certainly, they will need to be informed in person as well, but I have no doubt that Zend will use our loss as propaganda for her cause. The sooner that High Command knows about Bilbringi, the more time they will have to prepare for the fallout and find a way to counter it.

Second, I suggest that until either knowledge of Bilbringi goes public or we receive other orders from High Command, we take the fleets to a position just outside the system where they are unlikely to be noticed by the public, then travel to the planet itself by more inconspicuous shuttlecraft. If we pull into Coruscant in this condition, there’s no telling what kind of rumors or misinformation might begin to spread. The news about Bilbringi will be bad enough as it is. We need to do what we can to keep the situation from getting any worse than it needs to be.”

"You read my mind, Commdore. I have already sent sparse notifications to Coruscant, but I wanted to wait with a full report before I got the complete picture. I am sure you have studied the recordings as I have, and I have readied a shuttle for departure. If you wish, I could come by and pick you up before jumping to Coruscant. The rest of the fleet will be going to Nabatu's orbital stations for repair, I've already notified the yard authorities of our arrival.”

“If you don’t mind, Sir,” Gaains replied. “I would prefer to oversee the arrival of the Negotiator personally and take a shuttle from Nabatu.”
”Understood and approved.” the Admiral responded on the other end.
“Thank you, Sir.” She said with a salute. “See you at Coruscant.”

The Admiral returned the salute on the other end, and the communication came to a close.

“Captain, you heard the man.” She said to her Executive Officer. “Ensure the ship is ready for hyperspace ASAP and that we can move out for Nabatu once Admiral Brand gives the orders to jump. Lt. Norrez, contact the rest of the Fourth Fleet and ensure that anyone who is not aware of our next stop is informed.”

Task Force Beta-Nine is now at the Corsucant system, near the planet of Nabatu.

CMAC, if you see this and wouldn't mind deleting this post, that would be wonderful..._________________MorganZIM: Bounty Hunter, Gun for Hire, Freelance Peacekeeping Agent, Cybernetic Scoundrel, and all around disruptor of the normal order of things.

Last edited by Morgan ZIM on Fri, January 28th 2011 05:37am; edited 3 times in total

The reassembled Task Force Beta-Nine was hardly glamorous, even by military standards, but that suited Commodore Tira Gaains just fine. The new group of ships didn’t have to be the best, they just had to be capable of seeing their upcoming mission through.

”To be honest, that may be all they’re good for anymore.” Gaains thought as she looked out the viewport of the newly repaired Aggressive Negotiator. While two of her capital ships and starfighter squadrons were survivors of the Bilbringi engagement, the others were old and obsolete. The others had actually been scheduled for decommissioning only days before Zend had made her appearance – both the Goldenrod and Oovo Four were of a design the Heroes of Tatooine had been specifically built to replace.

However, both the more modern ships would need further support, if only to carry more of the Ferret recon vessels that could prove to be the key to the operation. And since she had already been surprised that her superiors had actually approved her plan, she had decided it wise not to push her luck when requesting additional ships.

“Commodore, the Negotiator reports all hands ready. We’re all loaded, prepped and ready to launch.”
“Thank you, Captain.” She said, acknowledging the new commander of her flag ship, Captain Raymon Haawk.
“The rest of the task force reports the same.” Said Lt. Norrez.
“Thank you, Lieutenant.” She said, taking one last moment to breath before they made their way to Celdaru. While everyone who would be accompanying the task force for the duration of the mission recognized that once they left Coruscant it would potentially be some time before they would see home again, it would be after they left there that it would truly feel like the point of no return.

The task force was in orbit on the far edges of the Celdaru system. It was to be their final launching point before their operation began. Commodore Gaains could feel the tension about it, and could only imagine the feelings that were running through those who weren’t aware of what they were about to take part in.

“Captain Haawk, see to it that the fleet is prepared to leave on my mark. Lt. Norrez, open a communication channel for the Task Force.”

”Time to address the troops.”

She began once she received confirmation from the Lieutenant.

“Attention all personnel. This is Commadore Tira Gaains speaking.

In mere moments, this task force will be headed for the Unknown Regions for Operation Mole Miner. Few in this small assortment of ships knows what the purpose of this operation is, and that has been done for a very specific purpose. If we complete our mission as intended, we will be finding ourselves inside enemy territory, and it is imperative that should that happen, they can not know we are coming so that we have the freedom to return to New Republic space and report what we have found.

Put simply, we are going to seek out and find out just what rock the self-proclaimed ruler of the Empire, Admiral Daara Zend, has been hiding under, and let the New Republic know so that we have the means to dig under that rock and strike back at her on our own terms.

Those of you personally familiar with my command know full well that usually, I would take the time to inform you that I expect each of you to hold yourself to the highest standard possible. But I will not be doing that today. All of you are here because you have sworn allegiance to the New Republic. You’ve all taken an oath to defend it. If I did not expect each and every one of you to stand by that, you would not be here.

Instead, I will remind you that we are at war. Everything we stand for, and hold dear, is now threatened by a foe who will show no mercy if they are allowed to succeed in their plans for conquest. Remember those who are counting on you back at home. Remember the future generations that are counting on us to live in a galaxy free of power-hungry tyrant. Remember those who have already fallen to her plans for conquest.

I cannot promise you how long we will remain in the Unknown Regions. It could be weeks. Likely, it will be months. It may be longer. But we will keep searching as long as we can. The very future of this war, and the galaxy, depends on Zends secret empire being located.

All crewmembers of Task Force Beta-Nine, stand by me, and I will in turn stand by you. We must hold faith that whatever it takes, this war WILL be won by the New Republic and her allies. It’s only a matter of when and how much we’re willing to sacrifice to make that victory happen.”

She signaled to Lt. Norrez to cut the communication feed.

“I can’t say I could have done any better.” Captain Haawk said behind her.

“Thank you. Now let’s get this operation underway.”

Coordinated as a unit, the four ships left the system, and began to make their journey into the Unknown Regions.

“Nothing?” Gaains asked as she looked out into the starfield.
“Nothing but a bunch of flotsam and scrap pieces.” Reported Lt. Commander Shigu, a Mon Calamari who was stationed at sensors. “There’s hardly even any of that. What few pieces remain have been scattered up to and beyond the ships scanners. It’s near impossible to tell how long ago the place was destroyed.”
“Can we recover any of it?” Gaains asked.
“Unlikely.” The officer replied.

Gaains sighed with disappointment. What could have been a first lead had turned out to be a wash.

“At least we have some idea as to how Zend got the drop on us.” Captain Haawk commented.
“It’s also our strongest indicator thus far that the Chiss aren’t going to be interested in providing assistance.” She said.

The Twi’lek turned and walked away from the ships front port.

“Commander Shigu, see if there’s anything out there we can recover. I don’t care how small it is, if we might be able to get something out of it, I want it brought aboard. Lt. Norrez, contact the other ships and have them spread out. Tell them to search for the same. Captain Haawk, have Commander Halk prepare a list of possible hyperspace points to send our recon vessels to.”

Acknowledgements of the orders came from all sides, signaling that their operation had begun in earnest._________________Commodore Tira Gaains
Commander of New Republic Task Force Beta-Nine

As expected, the scouting process further into the Unknown Regions was neither quick nor easy. They were, to the best of Tira’s knowledge, the first major expedition into the largely unexplored territory of space that the New Republic had ever seen. As the days slowly began to turn into weeks, at first glance there didn’t seem to be much to show for their efforts, and not a single sign so far that they were even anywhere close to finding where Zend had been hiding for the past decade. For that matter, there hadn’t even been any signs of any other intelligent life, whether through contact with previously unknown ships or through discovery of any new species homeworld.

“Ma’am, we just had two of the Ferrets report back.” Said Lt. Norrez as she entered the room, carrying with her a datapad and a datacard that no doubt contained the raw information the unmanned probes had brought back with them. She handed the datapad off to a Sullistan, Lt. Gobbo Tevv.

Early on, Gaains had put the alien in charge of coordinating the mapping data the task force successfully collected. The room that they stood in was the result. It had been dubbed the ‘Map Room’, and had been re-organized in order to make room for a number of holo-emitters and datascreens that allowed anyone working in the room – especially Lt. Tevv - to quickly and easily get an idea as to the Task Forces’ progress into the Unknown Regions. Not only was there a map showing their current location and discoveries, including the ability to get a closer look at the unremarkable systems they had happened upon, but also information regarding where each of the outbound Farrets were assumed to be located and how many they had left.

“Anything of interest this time?” Gaains asked, not expecting much.
“Initial assessment says ‘no’.” Tevv said as he scanned the data over. He pointed towards a Petty Officer and a droid that were among those assigned to aid him, and they began the process of cataloging the data that had been brought back.

“About the most notable thing I have for you is a binary star system. Has a single gas giant for a planet with a couple of moons. Nothing worth investigating further.”

Gaains nodded as she looked over the map of their progress. It was starting to resemble some kind of lightning bolt, a result of their method of digging deeper into unknown territory.

“The good news is that we continue to loose surprisingly few of the probes.” Tevv added.

Gaains couldn’t argue with that. Only two of them had been lost thus far, one of which was confirmed destroyed and the other of which had simply never been heard from again. Again, a natural consequence of exploring the unknown.

“We’ll take what good news we can get.” Gaains replied. “At least until we can find some sign of Zend.”

She gave the slowly expanding map another look over before turning and heading out of the room.

“Whenever that may be.”_________________Commodore Tira Gaains
Commander of New Republic Task Force Beta-Nine